your name

your name falls from my lips,
like morning dew from leaves
it's sweet honey on my tongue,
and sunshine in my heart
your name - a beautiful marvelous thing,
so prettily capturing your whole being
safely held in the deepest crevices of me
those syllables melting like snowflakes
your name - shared between us like a secret
like a prayer to heal the deepest of aches
your name - a shooting star across the inky sky,
dazzling and stunning the way it bursts into light.

this was born out of a very self-indulgent thought. i hated my own name (kshithi) growing up. i hated it because it was difficult for people to say it, i hated it because they butchered it, i hated it because they said it in ways that took away from its beauty. it took me a while to realise that what i hated wasn’t my name but them for reducing it to something less. how can my name which means “earth” be anything other than beauty and strength and a surface to hold you and ground you when you’re lost? so for those of you who may not yet love their names, i will do it for you - i will love your name and keep it safe.